To discourage motorists who regularly speed along Canal Pointe Boulevard — and in anticipation of future development — a final report released by West Windsor Township recommends a “road diet” that will reduce the four-lane road to a three-lane cross-section: two through lanes and a center lane for left turns. The report also recommends five-foot bike lanes on each side.
The prescribed road diet is intended to benefit the residential neighborhoods off of Canal Pointe by slowing speeds, reducing crashes, and improving bike and pedestrian access, “without negating the need for accessibility to the office complexes” for commuters. With additional development expected alongside the corridor, the primary tradeoff includes increased vehicular delays, particularly at side street intersections.
A public meeting on the Canal Pointe report will be held at the municipal complex on Tuesday, April 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Room A.
“The whole concept of a road diet is an excellent idea. Anything that can slow the speed down. Traffic does travel fast and the road is in a deplorable state,” says Dave Robinson, a West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance trustee who lives off of Canal Pointe. “Cyclists have to be well out from the right hand curb to avoid numerous, murderous potholes. The other big problem is there is only one marked crossing on the whole length, way down towards the MarketFair complex.”
The report was prepared by the Exton, Pennsylvania-based Burns Group (formerly Orth-Rodgers Associates) in 2008 and updated in 2013. The total length of Canal Pointe Boulevard is 1.7 miles, and it includes Wheeler Way. In addition to slowing motorists, fewer travel lanes would prevent sideswipe crashes, and a left-turn lane would reduce rear-end crashes for turning vehicles. For pedestrians crossing the road, fewer car lanes also reduces roadway width.
The road diet recommendation is expected to increase vehicle stopping times at the stop sign-controlled side streets that intersect with Canal Pointe. The report also notes the impact of anticipated development by 2018, which include Princeton Theological Seminary’s apartment complex that will number up to 400 rental units; six Carnegie Center buildings totaling more than 1 million square feet of office space; 150,000 square feet of office space by Princeton Overlook; and a Hilton Garden Inn.
There are currently two office buildings and two hotels on the west campus of Carnegie Center. One office is occupied by Princeton University and the other is a multi-tenant building owned by Hilton Realty. Last May the township approved a general development plan for seven additional office buildings. According to Land Use Manager Sam Surtees, while the zoning is approved, there are currently no applications for the office buildings listed in the Canal Pointe report except for the 120,000 square foot NRG headquarters under construction. In addition, the Hilton Garden Inn is not expected to be developed.
From 2008 to 2013, the report estimates weekday evening peak hour traffic on the southbound lanes of Canal Pointe increased more than 400 vehicles per hour.
The report acknowledges that traffic volume increases and a road diet project will worsen vehicular delays at the intersections along Canal Pointe, especially at the Alexander Road and Carnegie Boulevard/Carillon Boulevard intersections, with a possible need for a traffic light addition at the latter.
“I see it as a worthwhile sacrifice for the safety of cyclists. I know people use the road as a fast alternative to Route 1 congestion. They shouldn’t. You are getting close to residential neighborhoods,” Robinson says. “The bike lanes will be a useful cycling route. It opens up a whole lot of cycle routes that give you alternatives to getting somewhere. It’s always about alternatives.”
More Room for Bikes. Conover Road is the next stretch due for expansion under the township’s Bike Lane Extension Program. The proposed shared pathways will connect South Post Road with Mercer County Park. The township hired Roberts Engineering Group, based in Hamilton, to survey and design the project.
According to the township’s capital improvement program for 2015 to 2020, $175,000 of bike lane extension funding is allocated each year through 2020, beginning in 2016. Other areas of expansion as part of the program include Village Road West (between Windsor Ponds and Quakerbridge Road); Village Road East (between Old Trenton Road and South Lane); Alexander Road (between Wallace Road and Route 571); and Harris Road (between Alexander and Clarksville roads).
Other Road News. The south side section of Alexander Road from Vaughn Drive to Roszel Road will be resurfaced. The township contracted with Earle Asphalt Company, based in Farmingdale.
A North Post Road widening project aimed at widening shoulders at the turn near the library, including the removal of a utility pole. Council will approve an engineering firm at its meeting on Monday, April 20.
The ongoing Cranbury Road sidewalk project received support from Council at the April 2 special meeting, with Council passing a resolution requesting support for the hybrid one-sided sidewalk plan from Mercer County. It is expected to take a few months to receive a response from the county and to find an engineering consultant.
